Understanding the challenges of asset division

By
H. Benjamin Perez & Associates, P.C.
|February 12, 2015

There are two main aspects of divorce that can be contentious:

Child custody

Asset division

While most people view child custody as the most difficult topic on which
two married persons may have to agree, asset division sometimes leads
to even more friction. This is especially true if there are significant
assets involved such as houses, retirement plans, or stock options. Negotiations
about who’s getting what can be very complicated in this kind of
situation. This article discusses the challenges of
asset division.

Monetary value is just a factor among others

One of the main reasons why divorcing parties can’t agree on asset
division is because they don’t always claim assets based on their
monetary value. Instead, each party tries to get the assets that will
provide them with enough financial security in both the short and long
run. Under such circumstances other factors must also be taken into account,
including:

Tax repercussions

The level of liquidity of those assets

As you might know, certain assets can be turned into cash faster than others,
which is why they are described as liquid. For example, stock options
are more liquid than houses.

The type of state where the couple used to live

When it comes to asset division, there are two types of states:

Community property

Equitable distribution

In the first type, courts consider that each spouse is entitled to 50%
of all marital property. While in equitable distribution states, courts
focus more on the fairness of the asset distribution. New York is one
of the 41 equitable distribution states in the country.

If you’re on the verge of getting divorced and you've accumulated
many assets while being married, please
contact us and we’ll assign you one of our highly experienced attorneys.

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